As it has become obviously clear once again for myself, I don’t have the force to read a book per month. I now turned to try something new. That new thing is to try audiobooks.

I’ve tried audiobooks some years ago. The success has been abysmal. Either it plays in the background, and I wake up at some point, just to discover that I have no clue on what has been read for the hour or so. Or then the book itself has not been interesting enough for me to have the energy to last longer then an hour or two. But one should not give up, and as life changes, something that has not worked before, later on can work instead. So I tried the audiobooks again, as I now have been walking a lot.

I took to an app, Nextory, and started browsing thru what was available in English. The first 2~3 that I started to listen, early on fell into the earlier mentioned category, what I feared was that the experience of audiobooks for me, was; doomed, like doomed could be.
Either the story was dull, or to my surprising, the one reading was nothing I could bare myself to listen more then an hour or so. Really started to annoy me. As I kept on scrolling thru books, one appeared that looked interesting enough.

The title was, “Martin Short – I must say: My life as humble comedy legend“.

Martin Short for me, has been a comedian, who does movies and appeared in a sitcom named How I Met Your Mother. I’ve known he’s been in much much more, but I have to be honest; I had no idea how versatile he has, and still is with he’s activity and performances. What I absolutely loved was that Martin himself read and told the book. At first in all honesty, I wasn’t totally hooked. At the now wave breaking point, between one and two hours I was doubting if I would have the energy and stamina to listen the whole book. But slowly it grew on me. The further I came, the more I was sucked into it. Martins way of telling was great. A balanced and strong mix of “normal” voice of storytelling, and performing all the different characters, as well as friends and loved ones.

As I listened to the audiobook, while out walking in public, many must have looked weirdly at me, when this a little short of 40 year old bearded man comes against you laughing out loud suddenly. By having Mr. Short himself tell the many vivid story’s and memory’s, I could not help from often feeling like I was with him at the glamorous party’s, or funny incidents. While listening to the different twists and turns of his career, I often got truly nervous on how, or if he would get the break to become big. As there’s already early on in the book appears the news of the passing of his brother, I really felt like I could hear the sorrow and emotions from Martins voice. At the time when the book covers the passing of Martins mother, I felt a gut wrenching feeling of sorrow.

And in the end of the book, when Martin tells the stories of the illness, and the final times of his wife, and ultimately passing of Nancy, I hand on heart admit, there was tears rolling down my cheeks. I had been so engulfed into the book, it truly felt like I knew Nancy, and I too lost a good friend.

But one should understand that this audiobook all so contains so much happiness, and good stories of his friendship with Steve Martin, Tom and Rita Hanks, Paul Shaffer and Eugene Levy. If I ever were to have the pleasure of meeting Martin Short, there would be  hundreds, if not thousands of questions for him from my part.
I did not know that Martin was so within “the circle” of big stars. That he mingled with so many I’ve seen on movies and series, and that he was a truly big superstar himself!

This book, I think was saved for me, by it being a audiobook. I suspect, that I would not have read the book, if it would have crossed my paths in book form. I’ve might have taken a look, but then lost interest at some point in the beginning, and the complete great experience would have alluded me.
I’m well aware, that an audiobook is not the same as having a book in hand, reading it letter by letter, word by word and page by page. But at this point, I’m truly thankful I stumbled upon this audiobook, for otherwise I would not have had the 8hours 42minutes of full scale of feelings’ I’ve experienced while walking. I feel there’s a need to thank Martin, and all who worked or participated in the becoming of this book, both written and audio format.

I highly recommend the book to everyone, who likes to listen, or read about the famous and funny of showbusiness. And who want’s to feel the whole spectrum of human feelings.